Cataracts Or Fungus Infection?

[Ryefish]

I don't seem to be having much luck with my fish lately. I noticed last week my male betta had a scratch on his head from god-knows-what and now his eyes are turning white.
water parameters are fine, no new fish have been added, tank has been running for over two years, ive had jerry for approx. 7 months.
his behaviour has changed lately in that i never see him. he doesn't patrol around, he only sticks to one corner of the tank and i only see him on occasion when he comes to eat left over food on the bottom of the tank.

Ive set up a tank with fungus medication in but wanted to hear what others think about it all

here you can see its more the eye-ball than the pupil and is on both of his eyes

 

[AstonN24vantage]

its either ich or injury

parameters?
tank size?
other inhabitants

 

[Ryefish]

If it was on one eye i would think injury but its on both and exactly the same on each and there are no other signs of ich . Water parameters are how they should be. I dose plant ferts so nitrates are high but not dangerous.
tank and inhabitants are listed in my sig apart from three cherry barbs not one, one cory died which was unrelated and i have about 20 apple snails lol. I havent updated that in quite a while

 

[AstonN24vantage]

ive had ich 3 times (yeah, i suck at fish) and 2 of those times the only sign was the cloudy eyes. i dont think that fish are capable of getting cataracts (or at least ive never heard of it lol) you need to treat them with a copperless ich medication, as snails will die with the prescence of copper. they also make meds for fish with or without scales. if any of your fish don't have scales, then treat scaless and without copper.

 

[FreedomFighter]

Hmm, I wonder if it could be Eye Flukes?

Can anyone deny or confirm this?

 

[AstonN24vantage]

i wouldnt know but i know that it is probably a parasite.

 

[Ryefish]

Would you suggest treating all fish in the tank or just the betta? The others dont show any signs of anything. I do work placement at my lfs so ill ask them for some meds tomorrow

 

[AstonN24vantage]

if you have a smaller tank, say 5 gallons or so, and treat just the betta, it should be okay.

but you have to keep watch and make sure no other fish are sick.

 

[Ryefish]

well other fish were sick my two apple snails died for no reason at all, and my three cherry barbs fins are all down and they are laid around the roots of my plants.
Ive treated the whole tank with a course of Myxazin after the guy at the aquatic centre i work at suggested a bacterial infection and the Betta's eyes are still cloudy and now my female cherry barb's tail is going a cloudy colour on the tips which im wondering is fin rot

No idea what to do next

 

[loraxchick]

what are your stats?
id hold off on meds for now and just really keep up on waterchanges for at least a week and see if there is improvement.
it is typical for bettas to become lazy after so many months in the tank and stop patroling as often. They will find a spot they like and just kinda hang out-especially if the tank/tankmates have all been established for a while.
is there any sign of flicking or rubbing from any of the fish?
sad to say but snails can harbor some diseases and introduce them into a tank. the snails dying was probably from not enough food in the tank for them. snails are pretty hardy things and i dare say tough as nails. Usually its from not enough food when they just suddenly die like you mention. It certainly doesnt look like Ich. Flukes are a good guess. But thats just it-just a guess. Id be suspicious of water quality if other fish have signs of finrot. Or aggressive tankmates or over crowding. So on with lots of waterchanges-try for everyday at least 30%. cut back feeding for a week.
just medicating when you dont know what it is can be just as detrimental to the fish as not treating at all in some instances. You really need to be sure what you are dealing with.
please list stats and any other signs/symptoms the fish may have.
all the best! Keep us posted.
cheers

just to add- the betta is in great condition-i went back and really took a good long look at the photos. I can see the spot of cloudiness to his eye. I actually have a PK that has always had a spot like that. but only in one eye. doesnt affect him in the slightest. just keep an eye on the tank for other symptoms.
cheers

 

[Ryefish]

Ive had the snails for around 8 months so they haven't introduced anything into my tank. There is plenty of food in there for them too. There is a lot of algae in the tank and they get fed the same as my cat fish with wafers.
There is no signs of flicking or rubbing.
I explained everything to the guy i work with and he said to try a bacterial med and to check my PH, which is why i added the Myxazin. The PH had dropped to 6.2 but ive been injecting Co2 into the tank. I upped the PH and my betta seems more active but his eyes are still cloudy.
Do you know if there are any explanations to the cloudyness on your betta's eye?

Ive just carried out a water test. results are:
PH: 7.4
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 40

filter has been running for well over two years.

Ill begin the water changes tonight. Id rather do this than add any medications to the tank. Ill keep an eye on the tail of my female cherry barb and the behaviour of the males. Im also picking up something to add to the filter to stabilise the PH in a couple of weeks

 

[loraxchick]

id be less concerned about the Ph. Natural fluctuation during CO2 injection should'nt really matter (happens in nature-day/night swings). Even just adding buffer to the water like crushed up clam shells is better than using Ph up/down. can run into trouble with those "instant" fixes. just get some clams and steam them and eat the clams. boil and scrub the shells and smash with a hammer. You cna then either sprinkle them around in the tank or add to the filter(better option). will add natural buffer to the tank. may take a few weeks to really see "results" but it works great! and clams are tasty so gives an excuse to go out and get some
as for the eye, hard to say. "could" be bacterial...could be fungal...cold be flukes as someone mentioned. My guy was just born that way i think. He is copper dragon plakat. its just a small "spot" on the lens of his eye. hasnt gotten better or worse since ive had him. and he is very active fishy. you could try an anti parasite tank treatement. something that contains metronidazole and or praziquentil (excellent combo med for(most) internal/external parasites, flukes and nematodes. will not hurt the snails and filter. woth a try, instead of using more antibacterials. id hold off on those for a while. Although kenomycin is great for certain ailments, if you can find it.
best of luck!!!
cheers

 

[Ryefish]

One of my cherry barbs has died and my two bronze corydoras have some serious fungus infection going on. catfish have been brought out and are being treated on their own. Doing 40% waterchanges and hating this fish tank every day

 

[loraxchick]

id take the snail out and use methayene blue. Treats fungal infections and certain bacterial infections. Some folks will say it will stain your tank but ive never had a real problem with it. Maybe discolor the silicon slightly but nothing more. It is a good medication to have on hand anyway if you have fish.
You could also lower the temp a notch or two. Will slow any fungal/bacterial growth. Just make sure you do it slowly to let the fish properly acclimate. Too rapid and may stress them out making it harder for them to fight it off.
all the best!
cheers

 

[AstonN24vantage]

and i would add salt